Illinois EV battery plant promises 2,600 jobs. But far-right legislators are stoking fears over Chinese influence

MANTENO, Ill. -- On a recent weekday afternoon, Kevin Fregeau sat at the bar inside the Back Forty Saloon on Main Street, pondering what’s ahead as plans move forward on the state’s largest-ever investment in electric vehicle battery production, a plant that could create 2,600 jobs in the village.

Will there be enough housing for all those workers in a town of about 9,000 people, 40 miles south of Chicago? Would the area be equipped to safely handle the hazardous materials required for lithium battery production?

And then he raised one more question: What about the plant’s ownership ties to China?

“If you’re letting a hostile nation into your country purchasing your soil, that’s asinine,” said Fregeau, 59, who lives just outside town.

Since Gov. J.B. Pritzker last month trumpeted his success in luring Gotion to build a $2 billion plant in Manteno with $536 million in state incentives, along with the potential for federal incentives, many residents have expressed anger over the lack of information they’ve been given.

That has provided an opening for far-right Republicans, struggling for relevancy in a blue state, to fill the void by using the specter of communist infiltration fueled by state tax dollars to stoke fears about the project. Those fears have gained traction among some residents.

“I really feel that all of you